The American president, Donald J. Trump, has put a
rather abrupt end to the tradition of pardoning a turkey before Thanksgiving.

In front of a large group of children, journalists, and
admirers, the President was presented with the large bird which he was expected
to pardon.

Instead of “pardoning” the bird, Mr. Trump rapidly broke
with the usual protocol and ordered his staff to kill the turkey, before
leaving the room.

“Just shoot that bird! I don’t have time for this, I have a
country to save!”

As the crowd appeared shocked by Mr. Trump’s comments,
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders rapidly stepped in to defend
the President’s actions.

“The President has more important things to do than pardon
a stupid bird. That turkey will be on the presidential table for Thanksgiving
and that’s the end of it.”

The 20-lb bird was rapidly carried away by the White
House staff, in front of dozens of crying children.

For decades, the “pardon of the turkey” has been a tradition respected by
all presidents.

The official “pardoning” of White House turkeys is a
White House tradition often stated to have begun with President Lincoln’s in
1863.

His alleged “clemency to a turkey” recorded in an 1865
dispatch by White House reporter Noah Brooks, who noted, “a live turkey had
been brought home for the Christmas dinner, but [Lincoln’s son Tad] interceded
in behalf of its life. . . . [Tad’s] plea was admitted and the turkey’s life
spared.”

The formalities of pardoning a turkey were, however,
consecrated in 1989, when President George H.W. Bush “pardoned” the turkey
presented to him for Thanksgiving.

It has since become a tradition for the president to
pardon a turkey or two at Thanksgiving and announce that they will live out
their days in the comfort and care of Kidwell Farm in Herndon, Virginia